The First Wealth is Health
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| ‘The pain of discipline is much more bearable than the pain of regret’ |
Many people forget that they have a body, and get caught ‘upstairs’ in their heads. The value of health as a foundation to do well (and be well) is greatly underestimated and undervalued. This could largely be due to the common perception that building Physical Health is:
- Complicated,
- Inconvenient and
- Expensive.
Ironically, media and parts of the health, medical and fitness industry are responsible for much of the above mindset conditioning of the general public. For example, a large part of the fitness industry is heavily commercialised to its detriment. This vein and superficial focus on the body’s appearance as an illustration of health, and also of quick-fixes, often conditions people in two ways:
1. the “extremists” group – we see this expressed at its most challenging through extreme ends of the scale: anorexia and bulimia, or bigorexia. Note these conditions are at the far ends of the scale. People can experience anything between. This behavioural conditioning is characterised by an obsession with body image, and losing touch with reality.
2. The “too hard” group – where the significant majority lie. This group entails people who give up on achieving optimal health as it’s all too hard, too much work and too complicated.
This conditioning also:
- Indoctrinates people into believing that health revolves around diet and exercise only, at best. This is something like believing that solely getting an education will guarantee you a job, forgetting the practical skills that it takes to connect your knowledge with people in the world of work.
- Indoctrinates a profoundly distorted perception that skinny (whatever that is) is healthy, and that cutting calories is necessary.
We well-come you to exploring a broader perspective (coupled with practical action) that Health can indeed be as convenient as fast-food - only without the ‘tuckshop arms’ and ‘deli belly’!
There is nothing more important than your health and the fitness of your body. However, let’s get real here; there are a myriad of things that are more urgent (in the short-term).
- Moving towards our financial, social, and emotional security via work and relationships are such activities that often consume our mind and drive our actions throughout the day, and often take precedence over a fair share of attention to the greatest instrument we will ever own - our body.
- Often, people are driven to value whatever they see as most missing in their life. If there is more perceived psychological stress in any area of life, attention is shifted ‘upstairs’ away from the body to the mind in order to try to fulfill the areas perceived as not being met. Note that the majority of stress today is psychological (mind), not physiological (physical threats to the body).
- When people experience that their body is ‘letting them down’ it’s unfortunately only here, when the body is in chaos and disharmony, that the spotlight on health is focused.
- Ironically, depriving the body of its basic needs through everyday Health and Self-Care works against the total person. This is because a strong, healthy body can increase the capacity for the mind to function, and the body’s energy and endurance can meet whatever the mind wishes to pursue!
Feel like I’ve opened up a can of worms here? I have. I hope you look forward to the next article where you can get your teeth into solid practical action!
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society”
Jiddu Krishnamurti